


A Little Bit Nervous (Around You)

by nothingwithoutyouxo



Category: Rise (TV 2018)
Genre: First Date, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 08:53:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14891483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nothingwithoutyouxo/pseuds/nothingwithoutyouxo
Summary: Maashous realises that when faced with someone who he has considerable feelings for, he becomes a nervous wreck.(Also known as, Maashous and Michael go on their first date, and Gordy is fantastic brother.)





	A Little Bit Nervous (Around You)

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Pride Month!!! Here's a little fic for a relationship in this show that deserves More. The title is from Nervous by Shawn Mendes (which is 100% a Maashous song in this context tbh) and this is for Hannah.

Maashous didn’t think that he knew very many things, but he did know what it felt like to be nervous, and that was definitely what he was feeling right now. He had no idea what Michael had been thinking when he’d asked him out on a date, but it was far too late to worry about that. He had other things to worry about now. Things like the fact that his hair was sticking up higher on one side so that it looked uneven, and that his shirt was far too wrinkly and that his hands were shaking and that he was very cold and very warm all at once and that he was sure he going to pass out soon somehow. Michael said that he’d pick him up at 7. It was 6:45 and Maashous wasn’t even sure if he’d make it through the next 15 minutes. Maybe some moral support would help. Lou had already left to pick up the girls from dance class but he found Gail and Gordy in the kitchen. He’d heard Gail say at one point that getting Gordy involved with things like cooking would help in his recovery and while she seemed to be trying to teach him _something_ , Gordy wasn’t paying attention, just watching something on his phone instead. Gail looked up at him first, smiling as he stopped in the doorway.

 

“How do I look?” he asked, very aware that his voice was far shakier than usual.

 

Gail’s smile grew about three sizes and she gave him a thumbs up. That would have calmed his nerves if it was the only reaction in the room.

 

Gordy looked up from his phone, his eyes narrowed as he took in Maashous. “You’re not seriously wearing that on a date, right?” he asked.

 

Maashous startled. He hadn’t really known what else to wear. “I don’t really … have any other clothes,” he muttered, eyes falling to the floor instead.

 

Gordy sighed quietly. “How long have I got?”

 

Maashous didn’t know what he meant until he heard Gail’s response.

 

“About 10 minutes.”

 

He looked up again, watched as Gordy pocketed his phone and started walking towards him.

 

“Alright, bedroom now. I’ll fix this up.”

 

He didn’t move until Gordy gave him a little shove on his way passed, and Maashous quickly rushed after him. He pulled the bedroom door closed behind them and watched as Gordy made his way over to his closet and started going through the clothes.

  
“So, which kid are you going on this date with?” he asked, opening a drawer and grabbing something out of it.

 

Maashous wasn’t really sure what was happening right now, or why Gordy was even talking to him but he managed to answer. “Michael,” he said.

 

Gordy nodded, closed the drawer quickly and started rifling through shirts. “Which one is Michael?”

 

Small talk was weird. They never did small talk. He wasn’t really sure how he felt about it. “He, uh, he’s playing Moritz in the show.”

 

Gordy seemed to find what he was looking for. He pulled out a small stack of button up shirts from the back of the closet and sighed to himself. “Moritz? Is that the rapist kid, the gay one, or the one that kills himself?”

 

Maashous watched as Gordy started quickly sorting through the shirts, obviously looking for one in particular. “The one that kills himse - wait, how do you know the plot of the show?”

 

He shrugged. “Dad leaves too many scripts around. It’s annoying.”

 

“Does that mean you’ve read it?”

 

Gordy rolled his eyes. He made his way over to him, holding a few items of clothing in his arms. “Look at me, I need to know what colour your eyes are.”

 

Maashous looked up at him, completely confused as to what the hell was happening. Gordy had talked to him more in the last few minutes than he had in … the whole time that Maashous had been staying with at the Mazzucchellis. At least, that’s what it felt like.

 

He nodded, seeming to confirm something to himself. “Alright, blue shirt, these jeans and this jacket,” he said, handing Maashous the clothes he was holding. “Put these on. You probably only have a few minutes.”

 

Maashous looked between the clothes and Gordy for a moment. “These are your clothes,” he muttered.

 

“Relax, they’ve been washed. I barely wear them anyway. They’re for stupid family dinners and stuff. Come on, you’re running out of time before _Michael_ gets here.” There was a smirk on his face now, and Maashous could tell that he was teasing.

 

It took him far too long to realise what Gordy was doing. “Thank you,” he said.

 

Gordy shrugged, not looking at him. “Yeah, whatever. Just breathe and you’ll be fine.” Then he left the bedroom again. Maashous wasn’t sure if he imagined it, but he thought that Gordy tapped his shoulder on his way passed. Maybe that was supposed to help reassure him and calm his nerves. He thought that maybe it had worked. Maashous looked down at the clothes in his hands, and then at the alarm clock on the bedside table. 6:54. _Oh shit_.

 

***

 

“Maashous! Michael’s here!”

 

Maashous was just managing to do the last few buttons up on the shirt when he heard Gail call from the front door. He threw the jacket on and hoped that he looked ok. When he pulled the bedroom door open, Gordy was waiting on the other side.

 

“Tuck your shirt in,” he said.

 

Maashous did.

 

“And pop your collar up a bit - no not like that. Hang on.”

 

He had no idea why Gordy was helping him this much. He’d already done more than Maashous ever thought could be possible. Maybe this was what it was like to have a real sibling, a real brother that looked out for him.

 

Gordy nodded and Maashous thought that he managed to stutter out another thank you before heading for the door.

 

Gail mouthed something along the lines of ‘he’s cute’ as Maashous approached her. He genuinely thought that he would pass out before he even reached the door, but somehow he managed. Michael was on the other side. He smiled at him, offering him a wave. Maashous found himself frozen in place, it wasn’t until Gail gave him a gentle nudge that he actually made it through the front door and over to Michael.

 

“Hey,” Michael said, smiling at him.

 

“Uh, hey,” he muttered, hoping that this seemed normal and not weird at all. He was trying to tell himself that it was just Michael, that he shouldn’t be nervous like this, but the reason that he was so nervous was _because_ it was just Michael. He was running himself in circles.

 

“So, I was thinking Volpe’s,” Michael was saying, seeming far more casual about all of this as he unlocked his car. “You’ve been to Volpe’s right?”

 

“Is that the diner that Lilette works at?” he asked, because he wasn’t all that good with names. He slid into Michael’s passenger seat, which was something that he’d done a lot of times before, yet somehow this time it felt different.

 

Michael fiddled with his keys for a bit, carefully shoving them into the ignition and starting the car. “No, it’s kind of similar though,” he shrugged. “It’s a classic Stanton first date spot and honestly I think I just _have_ to take you there.”

 

“Oh, that must be where Simon took Annabelle,” he muttered. “And then where Jeremy took Simon.”

 

“And where Robbie took Lilette and then where Lilette took Lexi and yeah the troupe is there a lot in various combinations,” he laughed.

 

“I wonder if any of them will be there tonight,”

 

“I hope not. I mean, not that I would mind seeing them, but I kind of just want to be alone. With you.”

 

Maashous wondered briefly if Michael could hear his heartbeat from where he was sitting, because he was sure that it was definitely all that he could hear himself. He was kind of grateful when Michael turned on the radio. He was even more grateful when it was a Mumford & Sons song and Michael laughed with delight.

 

“Must be my lucky night,” he beamed.

 

***

 

It didn’t take Maashous long to realise that he liked Volpe’s. In fact, he absolutely loved it, and he loved being here with Michael. It was busy, being a Saturday night and all but somehow none of the troupe were actually there, just other people from around town that he didn’t know or care about. It made it a lot easier for him to focus on Michael and get entirely lost in the moment.

 

“You seem nervous,” Michael mused. He was leaning forward against the table, trying to get as close to Maashous as he could while being subtle about it.

 

Maashous ran a hand through his hair absently and then panicked, since that must have messed it up. “I, um, yeah I guess.”

 

“You guess?”

 

He could tell that Michael was teasing now. “I … haven’t been on a date before,” he admitted. “I don’t really know what to do.”

 

“Wait,” Michael paused. “Ever?”

 

He nodded.

 

“ _You’ve_ never been on a date before?”

 

Maashous wasn’t sure why he was so surprised by that. “I don’t usually allow myself to, um, get close to people,” he explained. “I’ve always moved around a lot and it’s - it’s easier that way.” He wished that he hadn’t said that because now Michael seemed sad and he didn’t want him to be. How was he screwing this up already?

 

“Well, if you’ve only allowed yourself to get close to one person,” he muttered. “I’m glad that it’s me.”

 

“I’m glad that it’s you too.”

 

Michael just smiled at him and Maashous felt more content than he could ever remember feeling. It helped give him a little bit of courage.

 

“So what about you?” he asked. “You must have been on a million dates.”

 

He shrugged. “I’ve been on a few, but I’ve only really dated one person, I guess. Like steadily.”

 

“Well, now you have to tell me who it is.”

 

Michael laughed and Maashous hoped that he could somehow manage to make that happen as much as possible tonight. “Ok, look. It was freshman year and it was for about two months -”

 

“Sounds thrilling.”

 

“It was Jeremy.”

 

“You dated Jeremy?” he asked.

 

Michael nodded.

 

“I guess that explains why you two are so close then.”

 

“We were close before that,” he shrugged. “It just kind of happened.”

 

Maashous looked at him for a moment. “Now I’m curious,” he admitted.

 

Michael smiled at him. “Are you bursting with anticipation or something?” he teased.

 

“I mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to but I kind of want to know.”

 

“I’ll tell you it’s not like it’s something I have to hide.”

 

Maashous leaned forward against the table, leaning towards Michael without even realising it.

 

“So, in freshman year I wasn’t out yet like I am now,” he explained. “I didn’t really know who I was yet. I was kind of just confused about my whole identity, I guess. I was IDing as asexual back then. It was mostly dysphoria driven at the time but I didn’t realise that, you know?”

 

Maashous nodded, to indicate that he was following.

 

“Jeremy and I were best friends back then. I mean, we’re still really close but we were somehow even closer at that time. He was the only other asexual person that I knew, and I liked him. I guess, it wasn’t … inherently romantic but I was fond of him and we seemed to work really well together. I guess we somehow thought that dating was the next obvious step for us.”

 

“What was he like? As a boyfriend?”

 

When Michael smirked at him Maashous realised that it must have been a really weird question. Of course that meant he was quick to panic and start back tracking.

 

“Sorry I - that was strange. I didn’t mean that to be weird. I -”

 

“It’s ok,” he reassured. “It’s valid. I mean, I’m not going to complain about dating Jeremy. I’m pretty sure everyone’s wanted to date Jeremy at some point that’s just fact. Honestly, he’s the absolute best boyfriend. He’s just the sweetest and most affectionate person in the world and we had a good two months. We just sort of realised after a while that it wasn’t really what we wanted at that time. That we worked better as friends.”

 

“I guess it worked in both your favours eventually. It freed Jeremy up for Simon.”

 

Michael didn’t seem to stop himself from laughing at that. “It did, and it means I get to be here with you right now.”

 

Maashous knew that he couldn’t breathe. He wondered if Michael could tell.

 

“So fun story about Jeremy and Simon.”

 

He wasn’t usually one to get a lot of gossip like this. Not directly at least. While Maashous often learned a lot of things about the people around him, it was usually through overhearing things he shouldn’t and not from actually being told.

 

“Jeremy has had the _biggest_ crush on Simon since freshman year,” Michael said.

 

Maashous could help himself. “Really?” he mused.

 

Michael beamed over at him. “Ok so, in freshman year we had a little group of me, Jeremy and Annabelle right. Annabelle got into the production at the time, obviously. She was only a minor role but we went to see her in it anyway. I don’t think Simon actually had the lead role at that point, I think it was a secondary role. I honestly don’t really remember I wasn’t that into theatre then. You could ask him and I bet he’d knew exactly who he played and probably some of his lines still somehow, but my point is that Jeremy was smitten the whole time during the show. It was adorable.”

 

Masshous found himself smiling at that. “I’m glad they ended up together then.”

 

“God, me too. I think he sort of had, like, an inkling that he was bi but Simon just confirmed that for him. I tease him about it constantly. It’s fantastic.”

 

“I have a question about Jeremy,” he muttered, because something was starting to pull at him.

 

Michael nodded.

 

“When you two dated. Him being ace and everything. That was ok, right?”

 

It was obvious that Michael knew exactly what he meant by that, what the underlying meaning to the words were. Maashous was a little relieved that he didn’t have to ask anything more in depth than that. Michael leaned across the table and took his hand gently. “You being who you are,” he said. “Is a thousand percent fine with me and I don’t want you to feel like you have to be anyone else.”

 

Maashous wasn’t really sure what to say to that. Part of his brain was still reeling at Michael’s hand being on his. The two of them pulled apart when a waitress dropped by with their food. She was smiling at them and it was somehow a little calming. Maashous wondered just how many dates you would see if you worked here. It wasn’t until she walked away that he continued their conversation. “It’s just, you said that you _used_ to ID as ace so I wasn’t sure.”

 

Michael looked over at him for a moment. “Maashous, it’s ok,” he said.

 

He wasn’t sure how just that sentence alone was enough to halt his anxiety around the situation, but somehow it was.

 

“I like you exactly how you are,” he added. “Honestly, so does everyone else.”

 

Maashous looked up from picking absently at his food. “What?”

 

He beamed at him. “You haven’t noticed? The whole troupe absolutely adore you.”

 

It wasn’t really something that he’d thought about. He was used to just blending into the background and having no one notice he was there at all.

 

“Lilette has been pestering me for weeks actually. She wants to be friends with you but she doesn’t know how to talk to you yet, since she hasn’t really before. She kind of thinks she’ll startle you if she does, which I genuinely find hilarious.”

 

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Maashous made a mental note so that he remembered to talk to Lilette, and maybe a few other people in the troupe as well. “That’s … really nice to hear.”

 

***

 

As Michael pulled up in front of the Mazzuchelli’s house, Maashous realised that he didn’t want the night to end. The thought was entirely illogical. He’d see Michael again on Monday at school anyway, but he just wanted more of _this_.

 

“Are you ok?”

 

He looked up at Michael, who seemed concerned at just how quiet he was being. “Can we … do this again?” he asked. “I mean, the two of us like this. Together.”

 

“Like a date?” Michael was smiling and Maashous had never been happier.

 

He nodded. “Yeah, like another date.”

 

“I’d like that.”

 

He wasn’t sure what to do now. He knew that he had to leave, but he _really_ didn’t want to. “I’ll, see you on Monday?” Masshous hadn’t meant for it to sound like a question, but somehow it came out that way. He could tell that Michael sort of wanted to laugh at that.

 

“I’ll see you on Monday,” he said anyway.

 

Maashous hesitated for one more moment. He reached over and squeezed Michael’s hand gently and then quickly jumped out of the car before Michael could react, careful not the slam the door closed. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard Michael laugh as he did so. As Maashous made his way to the Mazzuchelli’s front door he felt … alive. He snuck back into the house, trying to be as quiet as possible and not disturb anyone. It wasn’t really that late but he could hear the girls laughing in the living room and didn’t want to intrude on that. Gordy was still awake, the light from his laptop screen the only bright thing in the bedroom at this time. Maashous noticed that he looked up at him when he entered.

 

“How’d it go?” he asked.

 

Maashous closed the door carefully and pulled at the sleeves of the jacket he was wearing absently (he couldn’t say it was _his_ jacket, since it belonged to Gordy). There was an inexplicable feeling of calm consuming him. It wasn’t something that he was familiar with at all. “I like it here,” he said, staring at the ground.

 

Gordy looked at him for what felt like a really long time before replying. “That jacket suits you,” he mused. “I think you should keep it.”

**Author's Note:**

> If I didn't imply it heavily enough ... Maashous is asexual in this (and always to me lmao).
> 
> I'm over at potter-awakening on Tumblr if anyone wants to chat.


End file.
